3rd time's a charm....

[Shdwdrgn]

Venus flytraps are the most popular type of carnivorous plants, but you have to be pretty far South to grow those outside. I have found some pitcher plants and sundews that are suitable clear up into zone 2, both of which have brilliant reds and greens. Both of these tend to grow in peat bogs, so they prefer acidic soil/water. This is actually ideal for me, because my pond is beside a row of blue spruce pines, so a lot of needles and pine cones get in the water, keeping my pH lower than normal. Once I have a suitable area for them, I plan on getting some of each plant to grow. I think they'll really add a unique look to those areas of my pond!

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Sarracenia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera

[EDIT] Sarracenia purpurea is the pitcher plant you would want, however one caveat is that I have not had much luck finding live plants for sale. You can find lots of seeds for a very low price, but these plants take 4-5 years to mature. I guess its one of those things you have to plant early so you can enjoy it later down the road, but then again raising the plant from seed means they will be well-suited to your specific conditions.

 

[addy1]

What types of plants are carnivorous? Maybe I should get some of those too just to help keep the bugs in check! Mosquitos ahave already started coming out around here. They're predicting its going to be a really bad summer for bugs this year, since our winter was so mild.

We've decided to take out the other preform and just get a regular liner for the bog too. Still waiting to find out if I will be able to get my friend's skimmer. My fingers are crossed on that one. Anything I need to double check on that to make sure it will work for my pump?

Addy, how deep is your bog? I've read that most people do 12" but thought I saw you mention somewhere that yours is deeper because it is your main source of filtration?

My bog is around 2.5 feet deep, partly due to the fact the tractor driver dug it that deep, and our slope. It is on the downhill side of the pond.
I have pitcher plants, sun dew, no trap doors, they love bugs. They are just starting to come back from the winter.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Addy, did you plant your pitchers from seed or live plants? I keep seeing references about taking 4-5 years to mature, but I'm wondering what they look like before then? If they even have their pitchers the first few years, or what the difference is?

 

[addy1]

I planted mine from plants, not to expensive to buy. They do take some time to grow from seed from everything I have read. I had a few I started from seeds, took all summer to get them bigger than 1/2 inch, then they poofed away .

 

[JenH]

Those are actually really pretty. As much as I would love anything to help keep nuisance bugs away, I am planning to use plants that will attract butterflies and hummingbirds in the landscaping around my pond and bog. Would a plant like this eat the butterflies, or just smaller insects?

Addy, the preform I was going to use as my bog was around 18' deep, if I pull it out I will lose a little from the hole adding underlayment and liner, do you think I should leave it as it is or make it deeper/more shallow?? Also was planning to make it more rectangular in shape now that we aren't using the preform, probably about 4-4.5' rounded square. Was thinking I should use 2 pvc pipes with slots for the water to flow in from if I do that size?

And one more question for you guys. My hubby is done with the hole for the main pond now, was going to try to get the liner in it tomorrow. Not ready for the bog liner or waterfall yet. But they are calling for rain Friday, and last time it rained it set us back a week with several inches of water in the hole that we had to wait to dry up (couldn't pump it all out). Drying out takes forever in our hard clay soil. Any suggestions how I can do this without being able to finish everything at once, so that rain can't get underneath the liner and cause it to float up?

 

[Shdwdrgn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarracenia_purpurea

However, prey acquisition is said to be inefficient, with less than 1% of the visiting prey captured within the pitcher.

Prey includes flies, ants, spiders, and even moths, so yes, its possible that some smaller butterflies may be captured, but its more likely that nearly all would be too large or simply escape the pitcher. I've been seeing one particular species of butterfly around my pond already this Spring, and I like having them around as well (although I'm most fond of dragonflies), but I'll still get the carnivorous plants.

You might want to give the sides of your bog more of a slope now, and the shelves from the preform won't actually be of use. I would think it best to keep the depth you have... the extra depth just provides more surface area through the bog.

If you are able to get the liner in the hole before it rains, use some of the extra dirt and build up a small ridge around the edge of the pond. That should help direct the excess water away from the hole, and you're going to want to have that anyway before you finish. Then you shouldn't have to worry about anything but pumping the rainwater out of the liner.

 

[addy1]

We have tons of butterflies shdwdrgn, the carnivorous bog is up near the house. It has not affected the population of butterflies that come calling. We have had a real decrease in flies, gnats, mosquitoes with the pond and bog build.

Jen, 18 inches would be fine for your bog, most bog plants have shallow roots. When I yank some up to send to people the roots don't go very deep at all, now the rush has a huge root mass, but still only about 12 inches deep.

 

[JenH]

Corkscrew rush is one of the plants I'm planning on using in mine, and I have 4 pots of daylilies that need somewhere to go also, so I was going to put them in the bog also. Not sure what else I will be planting in there. Maybe some creeping jenny around the edges or the bog. I was planning on digging out the plant shelves since I'm not using the preform so the sides just go up. We have some left over landscaping bricks that I was going to stack up to create a wall in the front of the bog, under the liner where my waterfall will flow over. Will the flow of the water push some of the pea gravel out if the water level is below them flowing into the main pond?

The clay that we dug out is really difficult to work with as far as creating a berm or ridge around the pond. That stuff is a nightmare. I'm thinking that I will use some river rock around the perimeter of the pond pull the liner over that then use smaller river rock to secure the liner down. Then I can place flatter stones or whatever we end up using on top of both to hide where the liner comes over the ridge of rock. I just don't know how I could possibly get it all done today if we're supposed to get rain tomorrow. I hope this will work to keep runoff out of the pond. I'm beginning to think that was most of the problem with my original pond and why the water always looked so bad (water looks fantastic sitting above ground on my patio, half-full with twice as many fish in it same pump and filter as before)

 

[Shdwdrgn]

If you were getting run-off from your yard into the pond previously, then that would have certainly made it a nightmare to try and keep the water clear. I only built about a 3" ridge around my pond because I don't have any problem with flooding or runoff, but it's still essential to have that small lip. Otherwise, as you noticed, water will try to flood in underneath your liner and cause it to float.

 

[addy1]

You mean the pea gravel will be higher than the overflow back into the pond? I have the pea gravel, where the bog flows into the pond, below the water level, the birds love to bath there. Other than that it is mainly higher than the water level.